Collapsible or knockdown horse



1934- H. J. MARLOWE COLLAPSIBLE OR KNOCKDOWN HORSE Filed Nov. 20, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR [J'tlro/dJ/Var/awe BY {M /r1 7414041 69%.-

/ ATTORNEYS Nov. 27, 1934. H. J. MARLOWE I COLLAPSIBLE OR KNOCKDOWN HORSE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 20, 1931 L @f*\ Q INVENTOR Harald JMarZOa/e Wax ($46.

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ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 27, 1934 COLLAPSIBLE R KNOCKDOWN HORSE Harold J. Marlowe, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to'Marlowe Devices, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application November 20, 1931, Serial No. 576,243

9 Claims.

My present invention While applicable in its broader aspects to various types of collapsible or knockdown support frame structures, is primarily intended for embodiment in a horse for supporting scaffolding, or a carpenters horse, sawcharacter of simple, rugged, durable construction well suited to meet the diverse requirements of its various and sundry usages and to withstand rough and careless handling to which such devices are frequently subjected.

Another object is to provide a structure of this class requiring no tools to set it up or knock it down and capable of being expeditiously erected or disassembled by any unskilled workman and a device which after once being set up may be conveniently transported from place to place within a room or about the site of an operation without danger of the parts loosening up or becombing displaced or disassembled.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the horse includes pairs of legs at its ends connected by a common cross member. Preferably all of the legs are identical and of angular conformation. The two legs of a pair are pivotally connected near their upper ends and at the elbow or bend which connects the angular offset portions of the legs with each other in such a manner that both ends of a leg are disposed at the same side of the pivot.

The upper ends of the legs are suitably shaped to cradle and support a cross member. 7

Due to the disposition of the pivot near the tops of the legs and the fact that the lower ends of the legs are normally spread further apart than the upper ends thereof, a load applied upon the cradled cross member will take effectas a force tending to clamp the two sides of the cradle together so that the greater the load imposed upon the horse, the more firmly will the load be clamped.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the constituent elements consisting of the four identical legs and the cross pieces which connect them, may be disassembled, laid one upon the other and held together only by the securing bolts which are employed in the erected structure in such a manner that they form a small compact knocked down unit which may be conveniently transported. I Y

If desired, the horse may be provided with a unitary folding part adapted to receive a guard rail for coaction with the scaffolding planks, one end of which rest upon the horse.

When the invention is applied to a carpenters horse, the cross piece, which is supported by the legs, is adapted to serve as a narrow bench upon which the carpenter may work, and downward pressure may be artificially applied to the bench as an incident of assembling the structure, whereby the bench is firmly clamped in its cradle.

The invention may be more fully understood from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a scaffolding supporting horse embodying the invention, showing the horse in set up condition and with a scaffolding and guard rail supported thereby,

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view showing the constituent parts of the horse knocked down and packed for purposes of shipment or storage,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the top cross bar of the horse and its associated guard rail supporting element in folded position,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the legs of the horse,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating the slightly modified form of construction employed when the invention is embodied in a carpenters horse, and v I Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to, 4of the drawings, I have used the reference character L to designate the legs of the horse, there being a pairof legs at each end of the horse connected by. a common cross member and pivot bar 10. 7

Each leg includes an elongated lower portion 11 integrally connected with a shorter upper portion -l2 which is angularly offset from but in the same plane as section 11. These legs are preferably formed of steel bar stock. At or adjacent the point of junction at the two angularly offset portions of the legs, each leg is provided with an opening 13 for the reception of the cross bar 10. Immediately above the opening 13 each leg is apertured at 14, for a purpose which will more fully hereinafter appear, and each leg near its 'of the legs. pivot pin 2'1 and the rail supporting arm. 26, the

' other. cross bar 18 and the cross bar 18 is placed against the stacked legs 11 with the openings 31, 32 therein in registration with the openings 14, 15' of the lower end is provided with an aperture 15, the purposes of which will also be later described.

The upper shorter ends 12 of the legs are notched or recessed, as at 16, to define a substantially horizontal shoulder 17 which, when the legs are set up, constitutes half of a cradle within whichis received a transverse top; member 18 also of steel bar stock and engaged edgewise in the cradles afforded by the cooperating pairs of recesses 16 in the two pairs of legs.

The connecting cross pivot bar 10 may be; of ordinary steel rod stock including reduced threaded ends 19, which pass through the apertures 13 in the legs L and receive. wing. nuts. 20' pressing against washers 21 which work. against the outer surface of the outermost leg of each-pair.

With the construction as thus far described, it will be apparent that since the lowerends- 11 of each pair of legs are spaced further apart than the upper ends 12 of such legs, pressure exerted downwardly on the cross; member" 18. will take efte'ctas-a spreading force: on the leg; portions. 11 and cnrrscquentiywilli tend to draw the leg, portions 12 together: contracting. the cradle and more tightly gripping the cross. bar: 18. In other; words] the greater the read applied upon the bar 18-,v the more. will thisbarbe gripped.

When the legs are set up,. the apertures 14 in each pair ofglegs: register with each other and eye bolts 22 may be passed through these aligned apertures: and: held position by thumb nuts 23.

These eye bolts are. not vital to the proper support ofcthe' horse when the latter is set up, but as will more fully hereinafter appear, serve an important. function: in holding; the constituent elements of: the horse together when the latter has been knocked down and packaged.

T J In order to; support. a guard railv such,as for instance, as an ordinary 2;. x 4" indicated at 24, which wilt prevent workmen from tumbling off the scaffolding planking 2,5,which is supported :on the cross; bar 18, I may utilize a pivoted arm 26 also of steel bar stock- One end of, this arm is connected to one end of the bar 18 by a pivot pin 22', and the: arm is notched as. at 28 so that it may be folded. as shown in Fig. 8 without interfering. with a laterally projecting pin 29. fixed to the cross bar 18. One purpose of this pin 29 is to serve. as abutment or gauge when placing the against lateral displacement from the notch.

The rail 18 is provided with a pair of openings 31 and 32 therein spaced apart a distance equal to the spacing between the openings 14 and 15 Due to the friction between the arm 26 will not swing inwardly under the weight of the guard rail. The only substantial force tending to pivot this arm will be caused by workmen leanlng backward against the rail and in this instance the movement of the arm 26 would "be positively blocked by the pin 29.

' In Fig. 2, I have shown the horse completely I knocked down and ready for storage or transport.

Here the four legs 'L are laid one on top of the The arm 26 is pulled down against the trated its use, What I claim as new an legs. Rail support bar 26 has an opening 26a registering with the opening 31 of cross piece 18 when the support bar is folded.

The eye bolts 22 receive the reduced ends 19 of the cross bar 10, the cross bar being held against coming out of the eyes by applying the nuts20 and: washers 21, to the-projecting threaded: ends thereof. The shanks of the eye bolts extend through the aligned openings 14, 81, and 26a, 15 and 32, respectively, and the nuts 23 are screwed on to the projecting ends of the shanks, whereby all of the parts are locked together with theroundcrossbar 10 spaced slightly above the stacked flat legs andcross bar 18. Thus the cross porting the knocked down structure;

In Figs, 5 and 6, I, have illustrated a slight modification of the invention peculiarly adapted for use: as a carpenters horse. Here angular legs L, corresponding to the legs L, are arranged in pivoted. pairs; at; each end of; the. horse. and. connected by a cross bar 10, corresponding to. the cross bar 10;. and similarly secured by nuts 20, corresponding to the nuts: 20. In this instance the notches 16 in the upper ends; of the leg-s1.- serve to support a narrow cross piece or platform 40... In this case, again, downward pressure on. the. platform will tend to cause it to: be gripped more tightlybythecradle-forming notches.

Inorder. to: assure. a highly: rigid construction, means is provided for: applying: a strong downward pressure on, the platform 40: at the time the. latter is assembled on, the legs L". With this in; view a counter-sunk; opening 41 is provided at the: center of the platform and in this recess, is mounted a headed bushing 4:2,.thev shouldered portion 43 of which abuts the; upwardly facin countor-sunk, shoulder 44 ofthe. Op ning 41,. The closed. top of, the bushing.- has: a. fill-ist r slo 45 therein; for; coaction. with a screw driver nd h cylindrical downwardly facing socket portion ic of the bushing is internally threaded for coact-ion with the threaded shank of a downwardly extendeye; bolt 4'7. The eye of this bolt is interlocked with the eye. of a similar bolt 48., the shank of which extends through an,- opening 49, in the cross bar 10' and is engaged by a thumb. nut

When the thumbnut 50- is tightened, platform 40 is drawn downwardly against the shoulders oft-he notches-16' causing the platform and the legs to be held together firmly as a unit,

It. will be evident from the foregoing; description that in both forms of the invention the load applied to the horse instead of tending to collapse it, is merely operative to move it into more effcc-' tive load-sustaining position; also that a device embodying the invention may bev quickly erected,

quickly knocked down orcollapsed and occupies a minimum of space when disassembled and tied together for storage. All of the constituentelements of the horse may be cheaply manufactured "of standard bar or rod stock, no complex or expensive, parts being required, and due to the fact that all of the leg members are identical, the device is fool-proof against improper assembly.

Having thus described my invention and illusdesire to secure by Letters Patentiszr 1; In a horse of the class described, spaced pairs of connected legs diverging at their upper and lower ends, a cross bar supported on the tops of the legs, a cross member connecting the inter- -mediate portions of the legs at their pivotal points and affording pivotal connection therefor, each ofsaid legs and 'saidlcross bar having. equi-distantly spaced pairs of apertures therein adapted for registration when the horse is knocked down and the legs and the upper cross bar are laid one upon the other.

2. In a horse of the class described, spaced pairs of connected legs diverging at their upper and lower ends, a cross bar supported on the tops of the legs, a cross member connecting the intermediate portions of the legs at their pivotal points and aifording pivotal connection therefor, each of said legs and said cross bar having equi-distantly spaced pairs of apertures therein adapted for registration when the horse is knocked down and the legs and the upper cross bar are laid one upon the other, eye bolts adapted to be passed through certain of the aligned apertures in the legs when the horse is set up, whereby to prevent pivotal movement of the legs, the cross bar which afiords the pivots for the legs including reduced ends adapted to be passed through the eyes of the bolts when the horse is disassembled, and the eye bolts passed through the registering openings in the legs and in the upper cross bar when the horse is disassembled.

3. A device of the class described including spaced pairs of legs, means connecting the spaced pairs of legs and affording pivotal connections for the legs of each pair, the legs of each pair diverging above and below the pivots, a cross piece disposed between and supported by the divergent upper ends of the pairs of legs, and a guard rail support bar pivotally connected to the upper cross piece and adapted to extend perpendicularly thereof when in operative position.

4. A device of the class described including spaced pairs of legs, means connecting the spaced pairs of legs and affording pivotal connections for the legs of each pair, the legs of each pair diverging above and below the pivots, a cross piece disposed between and supported by the divergent upper ends of the pairs of legs, a guard rail support bar pivotally connected to the upper cross piece, and means to limit the pivotal movement of the bar so as to arrest it in a perpendicular position with respect to the upper cross piece.

5. A device of the class described including spaced pairs of legs, means connecting the spaced pairs of legs and affording pivotal connections for the legs of each pair, the legs of each pair diverging above and below the pivots, a cross piece disposed between and supported by the divergent upper ends of the pairs of legs, a guard rail support bar pivotally connected to the upper cross piece, and means to limit the pivotal movement of the bar in one direction, comprising a pin pro jecting laterally from the upper cross piece and serving as an abutment for the pivoted end of the bar when the bar is swung to upright position.

6. A device of the class described including spaced pairs of legs, means connecting the spaced pairs of legs and affording pivotal connections for the legs of each pair, the legs of each pair diverging above and below the pivots, a cross piece disposed between and supported by the divergent upper ends of the pairs of legs, a guard rail support bar pivotally connected to the upper cross piece, means to limit the pivotal movement of the bar in one direction, comprising a pin projecting laterally from the upper cross piece and serving as an abutment for the pivoted end of the bar when the bar is swung to upright position, said bar having a recess therein in which said pin is accommodated when the bar is swung into inoperative position parallel to the cross piece.

7. A device of the class described including spaced pairs of legs, means connecting the spaced pairs of legs and affording pivotal connections for the legs of each pair, the legs of each pair diverging above and below the pivots, a cross piece disposed between and supported by the divergent upper ends of the pairs of legs, a guard rail support bar pivotally connected to the upper cross piece, and means at the upper end of the bar for supporting a guard rail.

8. A device of the class described including spaced pairs of legs, means connecting the spaced pairs of legs and afiording pivotal connections for the legs of each pair, the legs of each pair diverging above and below the pivots, a cross piece disposed between and supported by the divergent upper ends of the pairs of legs, a guard rail support bar pivotally connected to the upper cross piece, means at the upper end of the bar for supporting a guard rail, said guard rail support bar being adapted when in inoperative position to rest at the side of the cross piece and having an aperture registering with a corresponding aperture in the cross piece to accommodate means for securing the bar and cross piece together when the bar is in its inoperative position.

9. A device of the class described including spaced pairs of legs, means connecting the spaced pairs of legs and affording pivotal connections for the legs of each pair, the legs of each pair diverging above and below the pivots, a cross piece disposed between and supported by the divergent upper ends of the pairs of legs, a guard rail support bar pivotally connected to the upper cross piece, and a gauge pin projecting laterally from the upper cross piece and adapted to abut the upper end of one of the legs and to limit the pivotal movement of the guard rail support bar in one direction.

HAROLD J. MARLOWE. 

